Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. It situates recent attempts to change forms of energy consumption at the national level within longer standing debates about phasing out nuclear power. The book seeks to locate the planned unexpectedness of experiments and the governance of ignorance at the heart of current strategies to establish greater use of renewable energy. It discusses theoretical approaches that address the stabilization as well as the destabilization and transformation of sociotechnical systems. Knowledge about access to energy and the development of innovative new technologies are interlinked with economic and political processes as well as with cultural patterns of energy use. The book focuses on the importance of the transition-related aspects of alternative energy generation and consumption in order to better understand some of the challenges encountered on our path towards what are often government-led "energy turnarounds".